Lysterism
Overview The religion known as Lysterism is one of the oldest remaining active religions of Numerian origin with a strong base of support within the kingdoms of former Nümeria, and it has remained in a largely unchanged form ever since “The Four Tables” of the prophet Lyster were written down at the transitional period from the unwritten to the written histories. God and "The Prophet" The God that has been told of in the Books of The Prophet has been referred to "an entity beyond man and mortal bounds” which pieced together the realms to bring the beauty and complexity of life into the wastelands that remained between the stars in the Lysterian creation myth. Despite the fact that this God-figure has specifically been told to not have a specific form like humans and other sentient beings, it has most often been referred to as a “He” in the faith spread around the Kingdom of Greater Nümeria and the plains that surround it. The Prophet, “Vigius Lyster", is the source of the name of the religion. Although The Prophet has been referred to as a vague figure, the canon that he wrote (view “Religious Texts”) stated that The Prophet was granted enlightenment by God during the Great Wars which were fought between multiple small kingdoms and the Kingdom of Greater Nümeria before the written histories. Despite the vagueness of this information and the uncertainty of its historical accuracy, the apparent result of this enlightenment was the complex canon and the other texts that were initially spread through oral tradition, and then through literature during the conversion from the unwritten histories to the written ones. Beliefs The religious texts of the faith brings forth three specific beliefs that are in a position of great emphasis: * The Mortal Binds * The Laws of Man * Ascension These relatively simple, specific beliefs have made the religion into one that initially spread like wildfire. However, the deeper ones goes, the more complex these matters become. The Mortal Binds mentioned in the religious texts are a concept that is based on (The Sidlium, p.5-30) “God granting all beings of the realms the soils to tread on, the minds to imagine with and the tools to build empires" at the cost of giving them "the binds of the physical form so that the abilities of the mind would not be abused to bring instability or destruction upon life”, which is firmly tied with the religion’s values which emphasise not seeking for more than what is deemed enough. This line is also regularly used as religious justification for the outlaw of magic. The Laws of Man are largely considered to be an extension to the Mortal Bounds, for The Laws of Man largely focuses on guiding the beings of the realms towards a life free of evil. However, these laws have become extremely vague as they have largely become individual to specific communities, regions or kingdoms instead of being universal. The last concept, “Ascension”, focuses on the fact that the loss of the physical form does not mean the loss of one's person. Upon death the individual’s soul is believed to be freed from the mortal binds and “granted eternal peace amongst the stars”. This has largely led to the stars being seen as representations of our ancestors, "whom look down upon us until we are to be freed as well." Practices The practices within the faith are often regarded as informal, for the religion does not need specific events or places for worship to be performed. Despite that, most holy sites within the realms can host large communions and other happenings in which praise can be done more socially rather than through individual worship. Despite this, the faith is most often considered to be private, and one does not have to practice it in one specific “form” or another. Religious Texts The religious texts consist of two books: * The Four Tables * The Sidlium The Four Tables is the largest of the two, for it contains all of the myths, tales and letters (and their contents) from the oral traditions of the faith. Because of how expansive and sprawling The Four Tables are, it is mostly read and studied by scholars and the nobility that can afford to get their own hand-written copies. Meanwhile, The Sidlium is considered to be the faith in a nutshell. The Sidlium contains the core teachings of The Four Tables, including the previously mentioned Mortal Binds, Laws of Man and Ascension. Because of the short-form in which The Sidlium is produced, it is considered to be the book of faith for the people as it is often spread to literate people in towns such as historians, archivists and preachers with a total of mere 125 pages. If one is able to buy The Sidlium, then one could use it for the purpose of perhaps learning to read or to get basic information on history and ethics while the knowledge pushed forth by The Four Tables is far more in depth.